Unequal Universalism. The Short Circuit of Solidarity in European National Healthcare Systems

Bibliographic Data

ID12643188
AuthorsFederico Pennestrì (0000-0001-9969-9955, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume25
Issue1
Pages13-25
Publication date2024-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Horizons (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1440-9917 • E-ISSN: 1568-5160
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14409917.2024.2321825
OpenAlexW4392383288
LanguageEN
References cited32

The first National Health Service (NHS) was introduced in the United Kingdom providing free universal health care (UHC) at the point of use. Within decades, increasing European countries adopted the same intervention to improve the health of citizens on the entire life span. Today, several reasons put at risk (1) empirically, the sustainability and fairness of these systems, (2) theoretically, the same consistency of solidarity, as vulnerable patients struggle most to receive essential care. Preserving solidarity from the pressure of modern medicine and society needs to identify a fair and sustainable type of coverage at the same time. This paper aims (1) to describe the short circuit of solidarity in European NHSs; (2) to discuss alternative versions of UHC and support redistributive neo-universalism; (3) to promote the role of medical humanities in implementing this solution

Epistemology · Health care · Healthcare system · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Solidarity · Universalism · Gender Studies · Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life · Healthcare cost, quality, practices · Law · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Philosophy

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